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by Erik Hare

Imagine thousands of people running across the bridges from Minneapolis.  The crowds are screaming and the runners are moving as fast as they can.  Some kind of civil unrest in our neighbor to the west?  No, it’s just the Twin Cities’ Marathon, the most beautiful urban marathon in the world.

The course winds its way from Downtown Minneapolis around the lakes of that city and over the Franklin Avenue Bridge to Saint Paul, and then along Summit Avenue to the Capitol.  If you’re reading this before 10:30 in the morning you can head over and see the finish.  It’s the great spirit of camaraderie that compels the crowd to cheer on everyone equally, as if all the runners are brothers and sisters.  A lot of celebrities even turn out to be just another face in the crowd along the way, rooting for the real heroes of the day.

The Marathon has been run since 1982 and seems to get just a little bit bigger all the time.  Runners come from 18 different nations to compete this year.  The races run include the 26.2 mile headline marathon as well as a 10 miler often called “The Shortcut to the Capitol”.  About 40% of the runners are women, and people from 14 to 83 years old are running.

The event is sponsored by Medtronic, the makers of pacemakers and defibrillators.  It’s a great corporate sponsorship because Medtronic has added a lot to the race, highlighting their “Global Heroes” who are running in the race after having Medtronic devices installed that save their lives.  This year, former Olympic marathoner Alberto Salazar is the featured runner, having had a heart attack just last year that required the installation of a defibrillator.  He’s running 10 miles this year, which for him is “taking it easy”.  Past Global Heroes include former Saint Paul Mayor Jim Scheibel, who runs every day now that his defibrillator keeps him steady.

It’s hard to imagine an event living up to the hype of having so many streets closed and so much publicity in advance, but the Twin Cities’ Marathon does it.  It’s the combination of great views, great people, and a lot of personal endurance that all comes together.  The end of it all, at the Capitol, is a big party that offers as much fun as a whole lot of Gatorade and sweat can (which is more than you think).